Reflexions From The Beach

Today is the last day of a very much needed vacation. Up until day before yesterday and for eight days prior, my wife and I spent time at the beach. Alone, just us. For anyone that knows even a little bit about our family, knows that for us to leave the kids behind for any period of time is a big to-do. A lot of deliberation went into making the decision. The kids, each with their own schedules now, could not make arrangements to get away during that time. But when it was all said and done, we opted for this get-away.

The schedule and plan for the week was simple; rest, sun, beach, food, run, repeat. And we managed to stay within this plan.

I didn't want to take a long break from training for the Ironman 70.3 I have registered for. Didn't want to take the bike, so running and swimming were the options of the week.

I managed to get 5 runs in. The first, on Saturday was the shortest at 3 miles. The longest was the last, on Thursday I got 6.5 miles in. The first two, were on the streets of Panama City Beach. The last three were on the sand. These were by far the best runs I've had in a long time. That is until a blister broke out on the bottom of my right foot with about .5 m to go on the last day. My plan that day was to get at least 10 miles in, but that was not to be.

During these runs, my pace was mid 8 minutes throughout. This is something I have never been able to do. I chalked this up to running at sea-level. My heart rate during the first two runs was a very comfortable 125bpm, again I assumed this to be due to the elevation, or lack thereof. Didn't wear my hrm on the sand; this would have made for a very weird tan line.

I tried to swim on the ocean a couple of times just to see what it was like. I went parallel to the beach for about 400m and back a couple of times, a couple of different days. Needless to say with no experience in ocean swimming this was a very difficult task to complete. It seemed like it would take forever just to get a few meters in. I will have to do some very serious considering before committing to a triathlon in the ocean. I'm not sure that's in my future.

Getting away from the realities of real life is always a welcome event, even if just for a short while. It's never easy to get back to a routine. It's double difficult when you return to the uncertainties that surround us on a daily basis. The certainties that we used to enjoy are no longer there and its becoming more difficult in today's environment to stay focused and positive. But being a focused and positive person, this is something that I must find the strength to do and I must work hard to ensure that those around me stay focused and positive as well.

I have a very busy few weeks ahead of me. In just three weeks I have my next planned event. The Mountain Lakes Triathlon in Guntersville, Al. And in a mere 69 days my big event of the year: Ironman 70.3 Augusta! After that a couple of weeks off and then preparations for the Goofy Challenge 2010 must begin.